Bad Blood
by walking primrose
Summary: His world had become darker when his father was taken from him in a cruel twist of fate. Life for him had been a complicated affair even before his sight was lost but even more so now that his whole world had been turned upside down. He had to mourn the wrongful death of his father whilst trying to find the light in the darkness. [Murdock/OC]
1. Death

.1.

The boy was lifeless in his arms yet he continued to carry him to his destination. He had to keep going, just in case his judgement had been wrong and there was still some life left in the young boy. He knew there was not, for the fact that the child's heart had beat its last beat as soon as they had turned onto her street. But yet he carried him to a safe place.

The boy was light in his arms, and had been younger than five years old. It broke Matt's heart to know that a child, as young as this one, had been subject to the torture that had been inflicted upon the small boy. The perpetrators of the terrible crime had almost evaporated into thin air as soon as he had bust open the doors to the old and abandoned warehouse to retrieve the young child. They had all but abandoned their posts and it was a game of every man for himself as they tried to find an escape.

Matt had found him lying on the floor, with nothing but open wounds adorning his body. He had knelt down beside the boy, hearing the young child's heart beating weakly. He had spoken to him, as if he had just woken from a nightmare, telling him that he was there to protect him and take him to safety. He had lifted him as carefully and gently as possible, and the boy had allowed himself to be carried by the stranger. Despite his young years, he was able to understand that the man who had come to his safety was not like the others; the men who had taken him from his family had never spoken to him, they had mentioned his name to the others but had never addressed him personally. He hadn't understood what they were saying. This man had spoken to him, using a soft yet protective voice which had soothed him slightly. His body was weak, tired and he hurt all over. As he looked up at the man who wore a mask covering his eyes, he had wondered if he would ever see his parents again, not realising that he was taking his last breaths.

Matt climbed the stairs to her apartment and banged on her door loudly. It was late in the evening and she had possibly gone to bed but he needed her. It wasn't long before he heard her heart thud at the sudden sound. He heard her get out of bed and walk towards the door barefoot. The door opened and he sensed the shock overwhelm her as she scanned the scene in front of her.

"I need your help," Matt croaked, the sweat from his face trickling down his neck.

"Come," she said, allowing him entry into her apartment. He stepped into her apartment and moved over towards the couch where he laid the boy gently down upon the cushions. He could sense her standing there, her attention fixated on the boy more than on him. "What happened?"

"They tortured him," he said, as she walked past him and knelt down beside the boy. She was feeling for a pulse, trying to find a pulse. He moved towards the bathroom and brought out the medical kit from her bathroom cabinet, and placed it upon the table. "You have to help him."

"Matt..." she said slowly.

"No!" Matt said abruptly. "Help him. Please."

He heard a sharp intake of breath. She rubbed her forehead, something she did when she was nervous.

"I need towels," she said quietly. The boy was gone. She knew it, and Matt most definitely knew it. She heard Matt stride over to the lining cupboard to retrieve the towels, as she examined the wounds on the young boy. They were deep; some new and some a few days old. Matt came to her side with the towels, and she placed one over the young boy's body. "Who did this to him?"

"The Russians," Matt whispered.

"What are they doing with a young boy?"

"I'm guessing he was the son of an enemy of theirs," Matt replied.

"I thought they never hurt children like this," she whispered. "They're playing with fire."

Matt nodded, pulling the mask from his head. The sadness in his eyes was overwhelming for Katharine, but she continued to check the boy for a pulse. All she wanted was to find a faint pulse, to prove them both wrong, to give her hope that there could be something they could do for the young boy but it was proving to be the hardest find. The boy was still, and all life had slipped away. He had gotten away from the danger, but he hadn't gotten away with his life. Matt was silent as he stared unseeingly at the boy.

"He's bled out, Matt..."

He picked up on the sadness in her voice, and he could taste the saltiness of the tears that filled her eyes. He bent his head down in mourning as he listened to her voice.

"There's nothing we can do for him."

"There is something we can do for him," Matt said, his voice low and bitter. Katharine turned to him and watched as he scraped his teeth against his bottom lip. She nodded slowly, looking towards the floor. She knew what he meant, she could feel the anger radiating off him. "I'm not going to let this go... We're getting revenge."


	2. Signal

.2.

He picked up on another heartbeat, other than Katharine's, nearby. He remained silent for a few moments listening as it became louder and much more prominent signifying that the person was making their way towards the apartment. He focused in on the heartbeat as the person it belong to closed their apartment door without locking it, moved slowly down the corridor before coming to a stop outside Katharine's door.

"Someone's outside," Matt whispered, causing Katharine to glance at him and over to the door. "Male, thirty-ish, strong heart. He's hesitating."

Katharine stood from her position, and waited for a knock to sound. She watched as Matt remained on the floor, his eyes unseeingly focused on the floor beneath the door. She focused on the door, at the shadow of two feet beneath the door.

"He's going to knock in three... two... one..." as soon as Matt had counted down, a knock sounded upon the wooden door. It was a heavy knock, one with determination.

"Take the boy into the bedroom. Stay there until he's gone," Katharine whispered, as Matt stood and carried the boy quietly into the bedroom. She watched him for a moment as he made his way into her bedroom, a route he was familiar with, and took a deep breath. Matt picked up on that, and waited by the door as her heart rattled with fear. With each step taken towards the door, her heart thumped louder than the one before.

Katharine opened the door to her neighbour. He was tall, with intense blue eyes, and brown hair that had a dusting of grey. He had recently moved into the apartment down the hall after a bitter divorce from an equally bitter wife. They had spoken a few times when passing each other in the corridor. Matt sniffed, the scent of alcohol mixing with cigarette smoke hung heavily in the air, and he wondered if Katharine had picked it up.

"Hey Kath."

Both Katharine and Matt picked up on the nickname at the same time. Matt furrowed his brows, and Katharine bit her lip.

"Hey Chris," she said. "Everything okay?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Chris spoke, his eyes dancing around at the room behind her. Katharine narrowed her gaze at him as she noticed that he was looking everywhere but her. "Heard some bangs coming from here, just wanted to see if everything was... in order."

"Well, thank you for hearing out for me. Everything is fine... just..." she trailed off, as a cough sounded behind her. Both her and Chris moved their attention towards the doorway to her bedroom where Matt stood, topless with bed hair. Katharine smirked, trying to hide it from Chris, before turning back to Chris, who stood with his mouth agape as he took in the man in the apartment. "My boyfriend... He's back in town."

"Oh... Well, um... I guess, have a good night," Chris said, stepping backwards with his gaze still upon Matt. He gave one last glance towards Katharine before she shut the door behind him, and quickly locked it.

They waited in silence for a moment, as Matt listened out to the retreating heartbeat of Chris as he made his way back to his own apartment. Katharine shook her head, amused.

"Thank you... for that display," Katharine smirked. "I'm sure he loved that."

"He didn't," Matt smirked, as he pulled his top back over his head. Katharine moved towards the couch where she took a seat, watching as Matt reapplied his clothes. He moved towards her when he was done, and took a seat opposite her. They sat in silence for a moment, the horrible realisation of their situation rushing back to them.

"What are you going to do about the boy?" Katharine asked, quietly.

Matt licked his lips then scraped his teeth across his bottom lip. "I have to take him back."

"Is that wise?"

"It's the only option I have," Matt whispered, his voice heavy.

"And what if the Russian's have returned?"

"I need a distraction."

Katharine closed her eyes and took her head in her hands. Matt sensed her reaction to his comment, and sat forward reaching for her hand. She allowed him to take her hand in his own.

"I wouldn't ask you if I didn't think it would work," Matt continued.

"Matt..."

"We're strong together. We always have been," Matt urged.

"I don't do that anymore."

"Do it for the boy," Matt whispered.

Katharine gave a small nod, before whispering. "For the boy."


	3. Fight

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed this story – it means a lot! After watching the entire season of Daredevil within a few days, I'm so excited for the second season! What did you think of the show? Let me know what you think of the chapters so far, as well as what you would like to see happen!**

 **Italics = Russian.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

.3.

Once the coast was clear, The Russians returned to the warehouse to find that the boy was gone. They had spent a few moments staring at the spot where he had been laying before cursing in their native language. It wasn't an ideal situation seeing as they were working for Fisk, who required one hundred percent and possibly more in every job he ordered them to do, and this was not what they had wanted to happen. They could handle themselves, sure, but Fisk was Fisk. If he didn't agree with something, he definitely showed them his anger in ways that would make your eyes water. They had seen what he had done to people, and they knew that absolutely nothing would stop him from getting to them if he found out about the boy being taken.

" _What are we going to do?"_ Vladimir asked his brother. _"If he finds out, he's going to have our heads on sticks."_

" _That's not going to happen. We'll find a way._ "

" _You really think this is going to be kept a secret?_ "

" _No, but we have no other choice but to play along. We'll call the kid's parents and demand more money. They'll pay as much as we tell them to. He's precious cargo. They don't need to know that we don't have him._ "

" _You sure that's going to work? They'll demand photos or something._ "

" _We'll have to take that ch-"_

Before he could finish his sentence, the lights went out, throwing the entire warehouse into darkness. The sound of guns being readied could be heard in the darkness, and Vladimir glanced towards his brother. He could see his brother's silhouette against the wall as the moonlight shone through the window. There was a sound in the distance and he strained his ears to hear but found that he couldn't hear anything other than the blood pulsing in his ears.

"Who's there?" One of his men called out. They had to be wary; working with Fisk threw so many obstacles their way that they had to watch their back constantly. There was never a time where they felt like they could truly relax. There was always something that caused them to be on edge, despite them not being in contact with Fisk for a certain amount of time. He was always watching them.

They scanned the room, their own eyes playing tricks on them and creating shapes in the shadows. As Vladimir strained his eyes to see through the thick darkness in the distance, a figure stepped out of the shadows. The person was illuminated in the moonlight, and he could see that it was a woman. She was short, with red hair that rested against the length of her arms. As she stepped further out of the shadows and towards the middle of the room, his men took a step back but kept their guns poised towards her, and it was only when she stopped in the middle of the room that he was able to see that she was dressed entirely in black with a black mask covering the majority of her face. Her eyes were the only thing he was able to see, and as they scanned across everyone stood in the room with her, he waited for them to meet his. When they did, he smirked.

"The boy..." she began. "Who is he?"

Vladimir threw a look towards his brother who returned his action. He read that look despite the darkness. _Do not tell her anything_.

"Playing the silent game, are we?" she asked, to which the response was silence. She smirked beneath her mask.

"Who are you?" Vladimir asked.

"I'll answer you after you answer my question. The boy – who is he?"

"It doesn't work like that, sweetheart," Vladimir replied.

Katharine narrowed her eyes at the nickname he had given her and bit her lip. She hated nicknames. She ignored his nickname and stepped forward, hearing the sound of the guns being readied.

"Are you a play thing for us?" Vladimir continued. He ushered one of his men to go towards her. She turned her attention to the man with longish hair down to his shoulders.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said.

"Oh yeah," Vladimir asked. "And why's that?"

She waited for the man to come towards her. She had no idea what he was going to do to her, and she didn't want to find out. The look in the man's eye caused her to feel unnerved, but she narrowed her eyes at him. She allowed him to take a step closer to him, before she saw the intense look in his eye. He was going to attack. He swung his arm towards her. She grabbed his arm and pulled it hard. Pain reverberated throughout his arm as his shoulder threatened to loosen from its joint, but he didn't show it. They struggled for a moment; he had pulled her hair down until her body was bent backwards. She kicked her leg up, her boot connecting with the back of his head which caused his hold on her to loosen. She was able to get the upper hand and hit him in the throat, across his air way which caused him to drop to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Just because," she stated.

Vladimir advanced towards her, and before she knew it, she was surrounded. She kicked and punched the one's who got too close to her, and once they were on the floor recovering from her attack, she focused her attention on the one's who were approaching her.

Matt was listening from afar. He had placed the young boy in the room situated just off the main warehouse. He waited in the silence as he counted the heartbeats of nearly thirty men, all advancing towards Katharine. They had fought together many times before, and he knew that she could handle herself.

He pulled the mobile phone that he had picked up from a store a few hours before from his pocket and dialled 911. As he waited for the call to be answered, he acknowledged that he had at least five minutes until the police came swarming towards the address for him and Katharine to get out of the building. They had planned it before they had left Katharine's apartment, and everything seemed to be going to plan.

And then he heard it.

The sound of a gun clicking.

A flutter of fear coming from her heart.

He moved quickly, his heart beating fast as he heard the bullet begin to leave the chamber. He raced towards her, and pushed her out of the way just as the bullet whizzed by his head and skimmed the air beside his head. They fell to the floor in a heap, and everything seemed to be in slow motion as he checked to make sure that Katharine was okay. He touched her face gently and felt her shiver beneath his touch, her heart still beating furiously in her chest.

He pulled her up just as Vladimir and his brother advanced towards them. They both struggled with their separate assailants until they heard the distant warning tones of the police racing towards them. Katharine elbowed Vladimir in the throat just as Matt motioned towards Katharine. It was time for them to leave. The police were closing in on them, and they had to ensure that they had enough time to escape without getting caught.

Matt and Katharine made their way out of the building by running towards the stairwell. They would climb the stairs all the way to the top of the building, and climb down the rickety stairwell that had been broken for a number of years and never repaired. As Matt and Katharine made their way towards the stairwell, Katharine felt Matt come to a stop outside the room that held the young boy.

She watched him for a moment. His breathing had changed and she noticed that it was because he was emotional. She stepped towards him, closing the space between them. She placed a hand on his arm gently.

"Come," she whispered. "He's safe now, Matt. He's going home, thanks to you."

"But not in the way it should have been."

"No, but you did everything you could for him. That's enough."

Matt nodded faintly, and allowed Katharine to pull him out of the warehouse. They waited on the roof for a few moments as the police vehicles surrounded the building and armed officers began to swarm the warehouse like bees. They heard shouts coming from inside, and knew that it would be wise to leave at that moment.

They made their way towards Katharine's apartment in silence. They walked through the alleyways so that they wouldn't be out in the open and they would be seen. It was in the dead of the night, but Matt and Katharine knew that anyone could be around. Hell's Kitchen had many people watching others in the darkness, just like they were.

They reached Katharine's apartment, and they climbed the outside stairwell until they reached her window. She pulled her mask from her face and rubbed her forehead nervously. Matt lifted his mask from his eyes, and picked up on her behaviour and bowed his head gently. He lifted his hand to her face where his fingers hovered over the thick silver line that started from her temple and jaggedly stretched towards her chin. She closed her eyes as his fingers gently touched the delicate skin, brushing the length of her scar.

Matt leaned in slowly and allowed his lips to brush her cheek, his lips burning her scar. He heard and felt her breath hitch in her throat and her heart beat faster than it had before. He pulled back, smiling softly as she kept her eyes closed. She was afraid that if she opened them, he wouldn't be standing in front of her and she would wake up from a dream that tormented her most nights.

"Goodnight Katharine," Matt whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Goodnight Matt," she whispered, her voice equally as hoarse.

He allowed his hand to fall to her side where he entwined his fingers with hers, and gave it a squeeze. She watched as he pulled his mask back over his eyes and climbed down the stairwell, his movements not causing a sound until he slipped into the darkness.


	4. The Past

**Author's Note: Thank you once again to everyone who has favourited, followed, and reviewed this story. It means so much to know that you're enjoying it!**

 **This chapter is a flashback. I thoroughly enjoyed the use of flashbacks in the episodes and couldn't help but add my own. I find that using flashbacks can answer a lot of questions, so, let me know if you would like me to use more flashbacks in the story.**

 **Enjoy!**

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.4.

The Past

 _Knock – –_

 _Matt laid on his bed, one arm resting underneath his head and the other touching the cold wall that separated his bedroom from his friend. He waited for a response, knowing that it was around the time when she would get in from school and make a bee line to her bedroom to communicate with him, but when only silence met him, he glanced at his watch. It was 4:02pm. He waited another moment, his attention at that moment focusing upon the cracks in the ceiling._

 _Knock – –_

 _He knocked again but was met with silence once again. He bit his lip and sat up on his single bed, crossing his legs beneath him. This wasn't like her – she always answered his first knock, and this made him worry. She could've been late coming home, having to stay at school for extra time to complete homework or she could've walked home with friends, but he couldn't seem to shake the feeling of worry that burned his stomach._

 _He stood from his bed and tried to find something to take his mind off of it, but nothing seemed to capture his attention. He was more focused upon Katharine. He was a worrier, especially with those that he cared about the most. His father made him worry a lot, and he understood that it was part of his job to get beaten night after night but it never made him worry any less. He would often find himself staying up until he was sure that his father had made it home okay, and hadn't passed out on his way home from any injuries that he had received in the ring. It became a habit, one that he needed to do to feel better._

 _And Katharine was no different. She had been through a lot in the past few years, and her life had been completely turned upside down when her father, who worked away most of the time, decided to not come back. This meant that her mother who remained at home most of the day began to drink the pain away at the thought of her husband being so far away from them. She had become the parent to her mother, but she was young; too young to take care of an adult who drowned their sorrows day after day, and night after night. He remembered a time when they spoke about their family life, as they sat on the window sill overlooking Hell's Kitchen, and Katharine had confided in him by telling him that she couldn't remember a time when her mother didn't have either a glass or bottle of alcohol in her hand. It made him sad knowing that she had to live the way she did, and not be able to do anything about it. They had planned, when they were old enough and had enough money, to leave Hell's Kitchen and travel somewhere. It didn't matter where it was, as long as they had Hell's Kitchen in the rear view mirror, that was all that mattered._

 _He moved towards the wall again and knocked gently. He waited a few moments and when silence welcomed him, he made his way to the apartment next door. He quickly locked his door, and moved to hers where he knocked against the heavy door. He waited a few moments before knocking again._

 _"Hey... Katharine..." he began, his voice echoing throughout the empty corridor. "It's me, Matt. Just wondering if you're okay. You might not even be here but I just wanted to check in..."_

 _He knocked another time, telling himself that after this one, he would go back into the apartment and make himself something to eat. The sound of a door being unlocked captured his attention and he watched as the door opened slowly. When it didn't move any more, he pushed it open to see an empty apartment. His eyes took a moment to drink in the scene before him._

 _Droplets of blood stained the floor. Some were small spots that lead towards a much larger puddle of crimson liquid. Next to it was a broken bottle of whiskey._

 _His eyes travelled towards the bathroom where the blood lead to, and he stepped into the apartment quietly. He stepped around the blood making sure that he didn't contaminate anything. The bathroom door had been closed over and he pushed it open, revealing Katharine, bloodied and pale._

 _She was pressing a towel against her face, and Matt saw as the blood seeped into the material quickly. He moved towards her, retrieving more towels from the cabinet and placing them down upon the closed toilet lid._

 _"She was drunk again," was all Katharine said._

 _She pulled the towel away from her face. The towel was soaked with blood, and the wound, as Matt observed the injury, wasn't going to stop bleeding any time soon. The bleeding persisted, and she took a seat on the edge of the bath._

 _"Everything's going to be okay," Matt said, leaning against the sink._

 _"Is it?" Katharine asked him tearfully._

 _Matt found himself nodding despite him not knowing how it was going to be okay. He could only offer his words at that moment, and he hoped they were good enough for her._

 _"I told her to go to bed, that she'd had enough for the day, and she just lashed out," Katharine whispered. "I didn't even know what had happened until I felt the blood."_

 _"Where is she?" Matt asked._

 _"She left. I don't know where though," Katharine said. "She's drunk out of her mind and she's out there."_

 _"She'll come back," said Matt, as he offered her a clean towel._

 _Katharine didn't say anything but accepted the towel. She looked at the towel and saw that the amount of blood soaked into the fabric was less than the one before. Matt noticed too, and stood from his leaning position._

 _"Come," Matt said._

 _Katharine stood and followed him out of her apartment and into his where he told her to sit at the kitchen table. He poured her a shot of whiskey and told her to drink it._

 _"For the shock," Matt said, as he placed it on the table next to her. He pulled the medical kit out of the drawer._

 _Katharine stared at it and grimaced. Matt noticed as he sat down on the chair next to her. He pushed it towards her._

 _"You'll regret it if you don't," he said. "It takes the edge away."_

 _Katharine picked the glass up and eyed it curiously. She had always watched her mother drink numerous glasses of whiskey, sometimes from the bottle, and she had never felt like trying it herself. Her mother had told her to drink many times before but she had always refused, knowing that she didn't want to get into the state her mother always seemed to be in. She had picked her up from the floor and put her to bed so many times that the thought of alcohol made her feel queasy. The pain that radiated throughout her body was agonising, and made her decision for her._

 _She poured the amber liquid into her mouth and closed her eyes as the liquid began to trickle down her throat. It burned and stung her lips and throat, causing her to cough. Matt smiled as he prepared to take care of her injury._

 _He saw the fear in her eyes, and his heart broke as he knew that this time was much different to the previous times her mother had lashed out._

 _"It's not your fault," he said, to which she nodded as tears filled her eyes. He slid his hand across the table towards her, and opened his hand, waiting for her own. She placed her hand in his and he squeezed it gently. "It's going to be okay, I promise."_


	5. Sighting

**Author's Note: Here is another chapter of Bad Blood. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think, I'd love to know your opinion!**

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.5.

Rain fell on Hell's Kitchen the next morning as Matt walked to work. He allowed himself to be lost in the hustle and bustle of New York life as he moved slowly through the streets. He heard numerous conversations about deadlines, dates and the news that had been circulating throughout the night. He was walking behind a couple of people who were talking about the tragedy that had occurred the night before; a boy, the son of the oil tycoon Don Pearson, had been found dead in an abandoned warehouse where Russian gangsters had been found also. They had been arrested and charged with the kidnapping and unlawful death of James.

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat as the conversation trailed off, signifying that they had changed direction and had begun to make their way down another street. He licked his bottom lip as he continued his journey towards his office. He made his way upstairs and into the office where he heard Foggy and Karen talking. As he stepped into the threshold of his and Foggy's establishment, his friend and new secretary turned their attention towards him.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Karen spoke.

Matt slipped his coat off, and hung it on the coat rack. He could hear the news being read on the radio, talking about the unfortunate kidnapping and murder of the young boy.

"What is?" he asked.

"The boy's death," Karen said sadly. "They've arrested people for kidnapping and murder. It's awful!"

"It really is," Matt said.

"I thought the city we lived in was safe," Foggy added. "It makes you wonder what else is going on behind closed doors."

Matt strained his ears at the radio as the reporter began talking about the night's event.

" _Two vigilantes were seen last night nearby to the abandoned warehouse where young James Pearson, son of oil tycoon Don Pearson, was found. It is unknown as to what they were doing around those areas, but police have deemed it suspicious. CCTV images of them are being posted online. They look to be one man and one woman wearing dark clothing and both masked. Have you seen these vigilantes around? Do you know who they are? We'll have more news on them in thirty minutes._ "

Matt quickly made his way into his office, but came to a slow halt as Karen listened into the news as well.

"Did you hear that?" Karen asked.

"No," Matt said. "What was it?"

"Two vigilantes were seen close to the warehouse that the boy was found in," Karen began, to which Matt bowed his head. "Is it possible that they had something to do with it?"

"You never know what people get up to these days," Foggy commented.

"I have no idea, Karen. Did they say anything about them?" Matt asked.

"Nothing except for the fact that police believe it's suspicious that they were around that area when everything happened," Karen replied, as she moved towards her desk.

"Ahh," Matt replied as he placed his briefcase upon the desk. He took a seat at his desk, and listened into the conversation between Foggy and Karen. He allowed himself to listen out at the cabs outside with the drivers beeping their horns in annoyance; at the children being walked to school by their parents and nattering away as their parents attention was fixed on their phone; at the scent of coffee brewing in the small kitchen; and at the familiar heartbeat that he could sense making its way up the stairs and towards the office. He brushed his fingers through his hair as the heartbeat grew louder.

A knock on the door sounded and Karen and Foggy's conversation came to an end. Karen stood and made her way towards the door, where she opened it to reveal an auburn haired woman. Matt sniffed the air and the aroma of her perfume filled his senses.

"I'm looking for Matt," she said, as he brought out his folders from his briefcase in an attempt to look busy.

"He's in his office," Karen said. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I'd like to see him, if that's alright?"

"You do need to have an appointment with him," Karen said, trying to come across as professional.

"It's okay, Karen," Matt said as he came to stand in the doorway.

He felt her attention switch to him and he felt the anger radiate from her. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gestured for her to enter his office. She passed him and came to stand in his office. He closed the door behind him but remained there.

"Take a seat," he said.

"I'm fine."

Matt nodded as he walked towards his chair. He sensed that she was standing near the window, her breathing erratic.

"This is what I didn't want to happen, Matt."

Matt bowed his head and nodded. "I know."

"They have images of us. People are talking about us, Matt. We're the talk of the whole city," Katharine said, her voice laced with anger and bitterness. "You knew that I didn't want to do this any more. And you respected that, but then you came to me last nigh-"

"I know what happened," Matt said.

"No. It doesn't seem like you do, Matt," Katharine said. "Do you remember how long it took for the attention to die down last time? Months."

"But it went away. The focus on us," Matt offered. "It went away because we were careful. I didn't realise that they had cameras down there. If I had known... I wouldn't have come to you for help. And I'm sorry for that, I really am."

Katharine took a deep breath, and sat down on the chair.

"I don't want them to start digging around like last time," Katharine said quietly. He heard the flutter of fear in her heart and he understood. "They were so close to finding out who I was, Matt. I can't afford for that to happen again. I just can't."

"I know," Matt replied. He was aware that Foggy and Karen had their attention on the two of them, and he cursed under his breath.

"What?"

"They're watching us," Matt said, to which Katharine glanced backwards. The man and woman were staring at them, smirks on their faces. As soon as they realised that she had turned around, they attempted to act busy. Matt smirked as he heard Foggy begin to whistle as he entered his office and close the door. "You always had that look of death about you."

"Charming," Katharine smirked.

"I was scared of you. When you were angry... you scared me," Matt smirked, remembering the times when she would get frustrated with homework. "I miss that look."

Katharine looked towards the floor and felt tears burn her eyes. So much had changed between them. Even though it had been years since Matt had lost his vision, it felt like it was only yesterday that they would have staring competitions in Matt's kitchen after school. She often forgot about what had happened to him, and would often kick herself mentally for being so rude.

"Smile," Matt said, to which Katharine looked at him. "Go on, smile for me. Let me remember."

Katharine stared at him for a moment before allowing a smile to etch across her face. She watched him as a smile tugged at his mouth. It was a simple thing, but it meant so much to them.

"I'm sorry," Matt whispered. "I didn't mea-"

"No. It's me," Katharine said. "I didn't sleep well. I'm taking it out on you."

"They won't find out who you are, or who I am," Matt replied. "It won't come to that again."

Katharine nodded slowly, and bit her lip.

"Promise?"

Matt smiled. "Promise."


	6. Smile

**Author's Note: Here is another chapter of Bad Blood. It's quite a short chapter but the next few chapters will be longer as the story deepens. Hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

* * *

.6.

The Past

" _Promise?" Katharine asked._

 _"Promise," Matt replied._

 _He leaned forward, his eyes searching the stitched up wound to ensure that he had done it properly. He wasn't a professional but he had taught himself the basics when patching up his father, and it looked okay. The stitches were tight, but not tight enough that they wouldn't heal properly or get infected. He replaced everything in the medical kit and placed it back in the drawer._

 _He took a seat once more, and the two of them sat in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock. Matt focused his attention on each tick as his eyes searched Katharine's face. Her eyes were cast downwards towards the floor, and he knew that she was listening out to any sounds from her apartment that would signify that her mother had returned home. But when there was nothing but the ticking of the clock, she let out a sigh. Matt wasn't sure if it was a sigh of relief or a worried sigh._

 _"Can I stay here until she gets back?" Katharine asked, her voice low._

 _Matt nodded. "Yeah, of course."_

 _Silence filled the void between them, and they stared off into the distance. Matt wondered whether if this was a regular occurrence for Katharine; her behaviour seemed calm which shocked him slightly. He was sure that if it was anyone else in the same situation as she was in, they would be acting completely different to how she was behaving._

 _"Does this happen a lot?" Matt asked._

 _Katharine looked towards him and searched his face. "Yeah."_

 _"How long?"_

 _"A while now," Katharine said._

 _"You seem to be handling it well," said Matt._

 _"I'm used to it now," Katharine whispered._

 _"Used to what?"_

 _"The pain, physically and emotionally," Katharine said, tearing her eyes away from Matt. "You have to be used to it. I've taught myself to not be surprised. I'm no longer surprised to see her passed out on the bathroom floor. I'm no longer surprised to see her drinking still when I leave for school. I'm no longer surprised to be told that I'm the reason why my dad never came home. I'm not surprised by anything that she does any more and it sucks."_

 _"It's not right," Matt whispered._

 _"It's the way it is," Katharine said, her lip trembling. "It will always be like this until I leave this place."_

 _"But how long will it be until she hurts you again? And what if she hurts you bad like this time?" Matt asked._

 _Katharine shrugged. "I'm usually out of the way when she loses her temper. It's only been a few times when I've been in the way."_

 _"It's not fair, Katharine," Matt whispered._

 _"Life never is," Katharine replied. "Sometimes you have to make life fair for you and for others."_

 _Matt nodded in thought. She was right. Life threw obstacles at you that you had to either jump over or be tipped over by. It was how you handled the fall, and how you got back up. If you were dealt a bad hand, you had to believe and aim for a better one. Some people were fortunate enough to choose their own cards, and others were not. But those who were dealt a bad hand kept fighting, because they had nothing to lose._

 _"Where would you go?" Matt asked._

 _Katharine thought for a moment. "I'd go to Los Angeles. And I'd walk on the beach every day and I'd stare out at the sea and be grateful for everything; for getting there finally, for taking that chance and escaping this place. I wouldn't have to be fearful about what happened next."_

 _Matt nodded, and reached for her hand._

 _"Smile," Matt urged._

 _Katharine furrowed her brow at him but smiled. It was painful and it tugged at the stitches in her cheek, but if she had a reason to smile even in the darkest of times, it meant something._


	7. Acquaintance

.7.

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and as Matt beckoned the person into the room, Katharine turned to see the red haired woman entering the room with a large smile spread across her face. Katharine watched as the woman's eyes focused on Matt in a way she was able to recognise, for she had looked at Matt the same way many times before. The woman had feelings for Matt but Matt being who he was, was completely oblivious to her admiration in more ways than one.

"Foggy and I were just talking and we've come up with a great plan..." The woman began.

"Here we go..." Matt said, smirking.

"And we thought that it would be fun, seeing as we've just closed our very first case, that we would all go out for a few drinks tonight at Josie's Bar," Karen said excitedly. "What do you think?"

Matt took a moment to think about it. It was a good idea. They had worked hard on their first case and had gotten the result they had wanted and worked so hard to achieve, and the thought of celebrating hadn't even crossed his mind. He thought it would be nice to go out to their local bar, and have a few drinks and not talk about work for once. He loved his job, and he was so proud of himself for achieving what he had set out to do when he was young – to find justice in a world full of injustice.

"That sounds like a good idea," Matt replied.

"Oh good!" Karen said ecstatic. She turned towards Katharine, who had been watching their exchange. "Would you like to come along with us?"

Katharine's mind raced as she immediately started making excuses to get out of the invitation. It was kind of her but her and Matt had a deal: they wouldn't get involved the others personal life. They had been friends for so long, and had gone through so much, that it was easier to just keep it separate without getting involved in each others life. People asked questions and answers, in some cases, of theirs were not good enough. For Katharine, keeping Matt private from the people she worked with protected him. And the same was for Matt; Katharine was so important to him that he needed to protect her from the world she had closed the door on months ago. She had been hurt to the point where her decision had been made for her. It had been a tough decision for Katharine to come by Matt's office but she had to. She had to talk to him about what was being broadcast on the news. She looked towards Matt and he sensed her attention on him.

"Katharine was telling me that she might have to work tonight so..." said Matt.

"I'm on call, unfortunately," Katharine said, backing Matt up.

"Oh, that's a shame! Can't you come for a little bit? It would be lovely to get to know you! I've never met any of Matt's friends before, except for Foggy of course," Karen suggested. Katharine glanced towards Matt and saw the smirk on his face.

"Uh... I guess I could," Katharine said. "Just for a little while."

"Oh good! I'll leave you both to it!" Karen said, closing the door behind her.

"She's quite adamant isn't she?" Matt said, smirking.

"She is!" Katharine laughed. She glanced at her watch and swore under her breath. "I have to go. I've got to get to work."

They both stood and moved towards his office door where they stood for a few moments. Matt was aware that Foggy and Karen were paying attention to them discreetly. He could hear Foggy writing with a scratchy pen but the strokes of the pen were the same which meant that he was just using it as an effect to pretend to be busy. Karen was shuffling paper continuously, tapping the paper against the table despite the paper being in order.

"They're watching us again," Matt said, to which Katharine smirked and stole a glance towards them. As soon as Katharine's attention moved to them, Karen moved to sit at her desk and started to tap at the keyboard and Foggy did the same.

"They're unrelenting," Katharine smirked. "They care about you, a lot."

Matt nodded and bit his lip. "I know we said to never mix our friendship with our personal lives but I'm glad we did."

"Yeah, me too," Katharine said. "It's going to be weird though."

"We'll get used to it," Matt replied. "You're my best kept secret."

Katharine smiled and let out a chuckle.

"Was that cheesy?"

"A little," Katharine said, chuckling.

"You don't have to come tonight. I know that's not your sort of thing, and I don't want you to feel pressured to come," Matt said, reassuringly.

"I'll let you know," she said, as Matt opened his office door for her. They walked towards the door, crossing the main area and feeling the attention burning on them. "I'll see you later, Matt."

"Bye, Katharine," Matt said as Katharine began to descend down the stairs. He closed the door and turned back to the room.

"So..." Foggy spoke up.

"So?" Matt replied.

"Katharine..."

"That's her name."

"She seems nice."

"She is."

"Pretty, too."

"I know."

"Wait, how?"

"We grew up together. I knew her before I lost my sight."

Foggy nodded. "She must've changed a lot since then."

"Haven't we all?" Matt replied, discreetly.

"Any romantic feelings for her?" Foggy urged.

"Foggy!" Karen exclaimed. "You can't ask him that!"

"Why not? A woman I've never met before despite me being his friend for over a decade comes to his office looking quite pissed off, if I'm being honest, and then Matt has this magic way of calming her down. And she makes him laugh which is rare as he's so serious sometimes!" Foggy explained.

"Karen makes me laugh," Matt said.

"Yeah, but this is different. This is a girl that we've never met before and she has this way of making you smile. It's nice to see, man," Foggy replied.

"Matt, you don't have to tell him or us about her if you don't want to," Karen said. "Foggy's just being annoying!"

"You're just as bad as me!" Foggy chuckled.

Matt shook his head as he walked back towards his office. "Can we all get back to work?"

"We would if we had anything to do," Foggy said.

A knock at the door sounded as soon as Foggy finished his sentence. The trio looked towards the door and waited for a moment. When another knock echoed throughout the room, Karen went to welcome the potential new client.


	8. Friend

.8.

It was surprisingly quiet at Josie's Bar for a Friday night. Since beginning to work with each other, their usual hang out was the local bar down the street from their office but the expensive drinks and the tense atmosphere from other patrons spurred them to find a new place to spend their evenings after a long hard day in the office. It wasn't the best area of Hell's Kitchen to be hanging around in of an evening.

It was Foggy had ordered a round of drinks for himself, Karen and Matt as they waited for the arrival of Katharine. Matt had sent her voice mail letting her know what time they were heading towards the bar and allowing her to decline the invitation if she wanted to. He knew that she was either going to decline due to work related issues, or accept the invitation and hope that the evening would end early. When he didn't receive a text from her accepting or declining the invitation, he kept his phone close to him. She had the tendency to go days without checking her phone due to her work as a social worker working with children from difficult backgrounds all over New York. She often spent most of her days working tirelessly trying to help the families referred to her by the state, and often became too involved in trying to help them. She would often talk to Matt about how she could see herself in some of the children and how it was hard for her to sit with the parents as they pretended that everything was okay, and that they didn't understand why she was there, all the while seeing the fear in the eyes of the child and knowing exactly what they were dealing with. She had first hand experience with situations like the ones she saw nearly every day, and knew what the warning signs to look out for were.

Matt had questioned her many times before about why she did the job she did and it was always the same answer: to give the child a voice and to be that voice. She had no one to look to when she needed help growing up. He always wanted to know more, because he understood her reasons for going into that line of work. It was the same for him when he started fighting crime at night. It was his way of finding answers, to heal the deep emotional scars of his. For Katharine, helping children whose parents let them down, whose parents hurt them was everything she ever wanted to do. It was because when she was hurt, when all she could do was trust herself, and when no one but Matt could hear her cries for help, she knew she needed to do something. To give those children a better life. To give them another chance. To give them a voice.

It was something that Matt respected Katharine for. She never gave up, even when the cards were stacked against her, she found a way to play the hand. He admired her for that, for never giving in and letting the tide wash her away.

"She did say that she was on call tonight," Karen said as she took a sip of her drink and glanced at her watch.

"What does she do?" asked Foggy.

Matt picked up his beer bottle and took a drink. "She's a social worker."

"Ah nice," Foggy said. "What made her get into that?"

"She has her reasons," Matt said.

Foggy and Karen threw a look towards each other but didn't question it. They both had secrets that they didn't dream of telling anyone, let alone their friends or family. New York was a big place where people with huge secrets ran to in an attempt to blend in and lose themselves in the busy streets where people didn't ask questions and never expected answers.

He allowed himself to listen to the people walking past the bar outside. He had wanted her to come and spend time with him and his friends. A part of him wanted to spend some time together. Foggy and Karen seemed to like her despite them only meeting her briefly. He enjoyed being with Katharine, for she was the only one who truly knew him. They had fought crime together, with Matt helping Katharine to track down the people she was after and vice versa. They understood, respected and trusted each other.

Then he heard it. The sound of her heartbeat beating heavily as she navigated towards the bar, then the aroma of his favourite perfume of hers filled his senses, and he turned towards the door as she stepped into the quiet bar.

"Ahh, there she is!" Karen said, standing from her stool and moving towards Katharine. Katharine saw her and smiled, and accepted the friendly hug from Karen. Foggy stood also, and wrapped Katharine in a friendly bear hug and both of them saying that they were glad she could come. Matt hung back slightly and waited for Katharine's attention to be on him, and when it was, he felt the butterflies in his stomach begin to flap about.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Katharine exclaimed, turning towards Matt and wrapping her arms around him. He held her tightly for a moment, and they broke apart. The small token of affection between them both didn't go unnoticed by Karen or Foggy, and both of them glanced each other. "I have a new case and it's been crazy busy in the office."

"You're here now," Matt said, as the newly formed quartet took a seat at the table.

"What can I get you?" Foggy asked.

"I'll have a water, thank you," Katharine said.

"You sure? I can't get you a wine or a whiskey?" Foggy asked.

"A water will be fine, thanks," Katharine said. "I don't drink."

"You're missing out!" Foggy said. "It makes you forget about the world."

Katharine glanced towards Matt who was shaking his head at Foggy. Foggy seemed to take the hint and moved towards the bar. Karen excused herself to go to the ladies toilet, leaving Katharine and Matt alone. Katharine took her coat off and placed it over the back of the chair.

"I'm glad you came tonight," Matt said.

"Me too," Katharine said, smiling softly. "I nearly cancelled."

"I was afraid you would."

"I'm sorry about this morning," Katharine began.

"Don't worry about it," Matt reassured.

"It was rude of me to react in that way," Katharine said. "I've been thinking about it all day. The news hasn't stopped reporting what happened. What are we going to do?"

"We just keep on the down low. Just act normal and it will die down again," Matt replied.

"What if it doesn't? What if it's like last time?" Katharine asked, her heart pounding in her chest. She watched as Karen exited the bathroom and was making her way towards Foggy who was bringing over the drinks to the table. Matt sensed the incoming interruption and gently placed his hand over hers and squeezed.

"It'll be okay," Matt said quickly. "It won't be like last time."

"You sure?"

"I won't let anything like that happen again," Matt said, just as Foggy and Karen returned to the table.

Katharine found herself nodding, finding reassurance in Matt's words. No matter how much she tried to believe in what Matt said to her, she couldn't shift the uncertainty swirling in her stomach.


	9. Boundaries

.9.

Time ran away from them as they all sat around the table sharing stories about their craziest moments. The atmosphere within the bar had ceased as the night deepened, causing the regular customers to carefully make their way back home rather unsteadily on their feet. There were a few people that remained in the bar, scattered like ants, and like the comfortable foursome, they were lost in their own conversations with no intention of leaving the bar any time soon.

"So, I go downstairs and there's people everywhere. You literally couldn't move because you might stand on someone sleeping! And I think… 'How did I get myself into this situation?' and then it hits me, the alcohol that had clouded my judgement and memory cleared, and I realised and remembered that it had been an orgy…" Foggy said, burying his head in his hands as his friends around the table stared at him in shock. Matt was the first to crack and let out a laugh.

Katharine and Karen glanced at each other and couldn't keep the smirks from etching across their faces. Katharine closed her eyes and let out a small giggle.

"You didn't know that it was an orgy?" Katharine asked.

"Well, no… not at first," Foggy replied.

"How did you know it was an orgy?" Karen said, expressing her curiosity.

"They were all naked…" Foggy grimaced. "Genitals… everywhere."

"Typical Foggy is all I have to say on that," Matt responded. "You should hear of some of the stuff he got up to at college… it will blow your mind!"

"Ooh, do tell!" Karen said.

Foggy coughed harshly and abruptly, preventing Matt to spill the beans of Foggy's antics. "That's for another time. I don't want to scare Katharine off now, do I? I have to make the right impression on her. You two are stuck with me, we work together, but Katharine… she's new. She's fresh meat!"

"Don't worry," Katharine said. "I have a few stories about Matt…"

The interest changed to Matt at that moment, and Foggy insisted on hearing all the gory details. Matt smirked, hearing Katharine's heart begin to race as he laid a hand on her thigh.

"Tell! I will pay you a thousand bucks to tell us everyth-"

"-Which you haven't got," Matt finished Foggy's offer.

"But she doesn't know that," Foggy said. "Well she does now, thanks Matt!"

Matt smirked, and shook his head. He moved his hand from Katharine's thigh. "There'll be no exposing any of my secrets tonight, with the amount of these I've had I'll be doing most of the exposing."

The two women giggled.

"Not in that way," Matt chuckled.

"Please… I'll buy you a… cat," Foggy offered.

"I'm allergic, sorry. And anyway, I can't tell you yet. I have to go," Katharine said. "It's way too late and I have an early start tomorrow, but I might think about a deal."

"Ah no, don't go!" Foggy said, glancing at his watch for a moment as the numbers swam before his eyes. "Holy crap, it's late."

"I had a really good time, thank you for having me!" Katharine said, standing up and applying her coat.

Karen smiled. "We love you already! And I'm not just saying that because you're Matt's friend… we really enjoyed your company! We'll have to do it all again soon!"

"Definitely!" Katharine said as Karen stood and moved towards her, wrapping her arms around her to give her a friendly hug. Karen squeezed, and released her.

"We could have a girls day or something, get away from the boys sometime!" Karen said, enthusiastically.

"That sounds really nice!" Katharine replied, smiling.

Foggy stood and welcomed her in a hug. "It was really nice hanging out with you! I can't believe Matt's never mentioned you before!"

"I know, my heart is broken," Katharine teased, as he let go of her. She flashed a smirk towards Matt who was smirking at her. "Like, totally broken."

"I'll walk you out," Matt said, as Katharine grabbed her bag. They made their way out of the bar, and the cold battled to get into Katharine's coat. "I'll get you a taxi."

"It's fine," Katharine said. "I'll be fine walking."

"You sure?"

Katharine nodded, "Yeah."

"I'm glad you came," Matt said. "It was nice for you to meet Foggy. And Karen."

"They seem nice," Katharine said. "Why leave it so long?"

Matt took his glasses off, and Katharine watched as his eyes moved to stare straight into her own. "I was scared. If I'm being honest."

"Scared, why?"

"For so long, you've been just mine. I feel the need to protect you, even though you can protect yourself. I didn't want to share you with anyone. I like it when it's just… us." Matt replied. "That didn't come out right."

"I know what you mean," Katharine said. "We're not very good when it comes to things like this."

Matt shook his head, and smiled. "I want to know… what is it between us? What do we call it?"

"What do you want to call it?" Katharine asked, her throat becoming tight.

"I like you… I like what we have. It's different for us… it's not a casual thing. It's becoming so much more than that," Matt explained. "I want us to be more…"

Katharine smiled. "So do I."

"We can talk about it tomorrow. I'll come round after work. I'll cook dinner," Matt replied.

"Okay, sounds good," Katharine responded. Matt closed the gap between them until he was standing right in front of her, his hand touching hers, and he slid his hand into hers and intertwined his fingers with hers. The electricity that both of them felt was magical. They had always had chemistry, and admiration for the other. Even when their worlds were dark, there was always a candle lit for each other. They trusted each other wholeheartedly; they been through so much together, that it was almost inevitable that something would happen between them. They were both scared, almost tormented by the fact that they were falling for each other, if not already fallen for each other, which only made things worse. Feelings destroyed things. Feelings destroyed people. Becoming too involved makes everything blurred, and difficult. They had tried to play it off as a crush, an innocent one that would fade away as quickly as it had formed. But the crush never went away, and they both didn't understand how to deal with the feelings that were being felt, and the thoughts they were both having.

They had been intimate with each other, but it always stopped right before anything did happen. They didn't know whether they were scared because it was the reality of their relationship changing and transitioning from an innocent childhood friendship into something so much more than that, or for the fact that once it happened, would they feel differently? Would it all be worth it? Would there be no chemistry, and that would mean a change in friendship?

Matt reached his hand up to Katharine's face, his thumb finding her bottom lip. He ran his thumb along the delicate skin, and felt her tremble beneath his touch. He wasn't sure if it was cold or if it was him making her feel that way. He hoped it was the way he was touching her. He moved in, his face lowering slightly to make up for the lack of height on Katharine's part, and brushed his lips gently against hers. She responded, her skin tingling from his touch. They were careful with their actions, savouring every moment of the kiss. Katharine moved her hands up to his face, her cold fingers tracing lines across his cheek and jaw. He smiled at her touch.

"I'll never get bored of kissing you," Matt whispered when the kiss came to an natural end, his lips hovering over her own. They smiled at the moment shared between them both.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Katharine said. "What do you fancy?"

"Apart from you," Matt replied. "I was thinking homemade pizza… an old favourite of ours."

"Deal," Katharine smiled. "Get home safe," she said, kissing him gently on the lips.

"You too," Matt said. "Text me when you get home, okay?"

"Okay," Katharine replied. "Goodnight Matt."

"Goodnight Katharine," Matt said, hearing her footsteps move away from him and into the distance.

* * *

Author's Note: Hello... it's me. I was wondering if after all these months you'd like to read my fanfiction... for Daredevil... Hello! So... that was quite a lengthy break from uploading, I apologise profusely! After a few months away from writing and uploading this, I have been able to plan out quite a detailed storyline that I really _really_ like so I'm excited to show you and for you to let me know what you think! As I have quite a lot of this already written, uploads will be more frequent. I was thinking about uploading two chapters a week, so let me know if that sounds good or if you would like more (all depending on my schedule). Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know what you think of it!


	10. Offer

.10.

The apartment was quiet as Katharine opened the door. The light from the corridor shone brightly, illuminating the small hallway softly before the hallway basked in light became dark once more. Katharine laid her bag on the table next to the door, and slipped her coat from her body, hanging it up on the wooden coat stand. She picked her bag up before moving into her open plan living room and kitchen. Laying her bag onto the dining table, she moved into the small kitchen and grabbed a glass from the overhead cupboard, and allowed the water from her tap to fill it up to the top.

She moved back to the dining table where she sat, staring at the bag. A folder peeked out of it. She sipped at the water, feeling the coolness of the liquid run down her throat. She nearly cancelled on Matt when she had received the folder a few minutes before she was due to leave the office. Her boss had been acting differently all day, before, once her colleagues had left the office to go back home, he had come to her side as she was packing her things up and preparing herself to leave. He hadn't said a word as he handed her the folder, and before she could ask anything about it, he had walked away and gone back into his office closing the door behind him. She knew that was a sign to not go after him and ask questions.

They usually got cases where all communication was cut off due to the importance of the case, or the amount of confidentiality needed for the case. The temptation to have a look was high, but there was a part of her that was scared to look into the documents. Usually with cases that required ultimate confidentiality, it was going to be a rollercoaster in every sense.

She set the glass on the table before turning on a lamp, allowing the entire apartment to be lit up. The folder was heavy, filled with a large amount of information. She laid the folder on the dining table, and opened it up. She took a deep breath as her eyes stared at the woman in the grainy photograph. A woman she hadn't seen for years. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember what the woman looked like when she knew her. Her hair was shorter in the photograph, but it had always been long; like the hair of a princess. Blonde, shiny and beautiful. She missed being able to play with it, like she always used to do before things changed. The photographs were not good quality, and were obviously taken with a camera of poor quality, but it was definitely her. She never forgot a face, not even hers.

Inside the folder were more photographs. Some of the same quality as the first, and some of better quality. There more photos of her, and of a little girl. She squinted at the photographs of the girl; someone she had never met before who seemed strangely familiar.

"It's true," a voice said from behind her.

Katharine jumped, and turned around quickly. A man sat in the armchair in front of the window, causing her to be unable to see his face. Her eyes scanned across the darkness where his face was, and that was when she felt it. A soft draught tickled the skin on her face.

"What is?" Katharine asked, not even asking how the man had gotten into her apartment. If someone wanted to get into any place, they would always find a way.

"About her…" he replied. "A leopard never changes its spots."

"I don't understand," Katharine said.

"You do," he said. "Don't lie to me."

"Did you give this folder to my boss?"

"Maybe. I wanted you to remind yourself of everything that she did to you," he said, seething. "Because she's doing it to her, too."

Katharine felt her heart drop. She always wondered what had happened to her, where she had ended up. It had been something that was always on her mind but Matt never knew about it. She hadn't seen her for so long, that the thought of her still being around was scary.

"How do you know that?" Katharine asked. Part of her hoped that she hadn't continued the abuse, she always thought that people could change, and often believe it. But evidence was stacked against her, and she saw it every single day at work. The empty promises. The see through lies. The fake portrayal of a happy family, when the eyes of the children always showed her the real answer. She had been one of those children who had pretended that everything was okay, that family life was fun and happy, when in reality, the things that happened behind closed doors were nothing near fun. She had spent so much of her childhood wiping up her own blood from the floor in their small apartment, or patching up wounds inflicted upon her by the one person she loved most in the world. She often blamed herself, wondering what she was doing to make her so angry. She was a child, difficult at times but even when she was good, when she made sure the house was clean, she would still get beat.

"I see it every single day," he said, his voice low and full of sadness.

"Who are you to her?" Katharine asked, narrowing her eyes at the darkness.

"I'm not going to tell you. There's no point," he responded.

"What is it that you want me to do?" Katharine asked. "There's only so much I can do through the system. I shouldn't even be handling this. I'm too… involved."

"You can't give this case to anyone else," he replied. "You have to be the one to do this. You have to be the one to make things right."

"And what is it that you want me to do?" Katharine repeated her question.

"I want you to do what you do best," he replied, standing up. "I know who you are. I know _what_ you are. I also know what you're capable of."

"H-how?" Katharine asked, a lump in her throat.

"She talks about you. Quite a lot actually," he began, ignoring her question. "She has this photograph of you, in a broken photo frame. I always tell her to get a new frame but she never does. Tells me that it's fine. It's of you, you're young and smiling. You don't even know the photograph's being taken, and you're happy. Caught in a moment. Frozen in time. You look so much like you. Red hair, blue eyes… she could be your twin."

Katharine redirected her gaze to the floor.

"You didn't know about her?" he asked, to which Katharine shook her head.

"She left one day. I never saw her again," Katharine said. "We don't meet up for coffee or anything."

"What happened to you?" he asked.

Katharine snorted, and bit her lip. "I went into a foster home. Beaten up every single day. The usual."

"Is that why you went into social work?"

"Some. I was fostered by families much worse than my own. I don't want that to happen to any other child," Katharine said, bitterly. "Who are you to her?"

The man sighed.

"You have to tell me," Katharine said. "I know that you're too involved to do anything."

"I'm her husband," he said. "I'm the father of the little girl I want you to protect."

"Protect in what way?" Katharine asked.

"I saw you on the news earlier," he replied. "I recognised you. I know that you can help. I know that you will."

"Well, you thought wrong. I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to give this case back to my boss, and he's going to refer it onto someone else. My colleagues are good, they'll help."

"No!" he said, stepping forward into the light. It was then that she saw him. He was a lot taller than she was, with greyish brown hair and sad eyes. A bust lip was the one thing that stuck out to her.

"She do that?" Katharine asked, already knowing the answer.

"She was drunk," he said.

"And you left your daughter with her?" Katharine asked.

"Your father left you with her," he responded. He winced, realising what he had said. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong."

Katharine moved away from him, and into the small bathroom to the left of the bedroom. He watched as she walked away from him before she disappeared into the bathroom. She came back out as quickly as she had disappeared, carrying a first aid kit. She threw the kit towards him, and he caught it.

"You can always leave," Katharine said. "Just you and your daughter."

"She'll report it to the police and I'll be a wanted man. The police will hunt me down, and I'll be thrown in jail and my daughter will be left in her care. I can't let that happen," he said sadly. "I want you to stop her."

"Stop her how?" Katharine asked.

"Scare her. Tell her that you know of the abuse," he offered. "Tell her that if she does it again, you'll know. And that it will be the end… of her."

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure," he said, smiling. "I have this… to hopefully make you decide quicker."

He lifted up a bag from where he had sat, and carried it over towards the dining table where he placed alongside her own. He unzipped the bag slowly, revealing what was inside. Katharine, her eyes wide, took a step backwards.

"A million dollars," he said. "Enough for you to live comfortably. This isn't about me, her or you. This is about my daughter, Ella."

They fell into silence for a moment, as Katharine kept her eyes on the bag of money that sat on her table. This was serious. He was serious. He knew about her, and about what she did. There was no way around the fact that he knew everything that she had done, the things she had done growing up. He had obviously researched her and realised that it had been her.

"Do it for her," he continued.

"Okay," Katharine whispered. "I'll do it, but I don't want the money."


	11. Decision

.11.

The next evening seemed to be upon her much quicker than she had anticipated for, and after a few hours of sleep and a long day of emotionally gruelling work, she was happy to see Matt at her door with bags of shopping in his arms. He made his way into her kitchen on instinct and quickly starting unpacking everything he had bought from the store. Homemade pizzas were one of Matt's favourite things to make, he loved everything about it. It was more of the fact that it was something that he and Katharine always did growing up; something they were able to do without their parents knowing of the kind of mess that was happening in the kitchen, and where they were able to just sit in the darkness of Matt's childhood bedroom eating pizza and talking about the little things like whether or not bugs able to see colour or if people dream in black and white.

Katharine remained near the door that led to the small hallway, watching as Matt worked his way around her kitchen. She loved watching him when he didn't realise he had an audience watching him, but there was a part of her that knew he knew about her attention. He never mentioned it but he knew. Matt turned on the radio, and started to move his hands to the music.

He could sense her distance, and listening in to her heart, he sensed something. He looked up into the direction of where she was stood and took off his glasses. He never felt the need to wear them around her, he didn't feel self-conscious around her to hide his unseeing eyes from her. It was something that he liked about her; her calming and considerate nature.

"Everything okay?" Matt asked, his concern growing for her.

Katharine took a moment to answer, but quietly said. "All good."

"You sure?"

"Yep," Katharine responded. "I'm just going to jump in the shower. That okay?"

"Of course," Matt said, his heart sinking. Katharine never missed making the dough for the pizzas, which was one of the best things they enjoyed doing together. The amount of flour that ended up on them instead of in the bowl was something that they always laughed about. He heard her footsteps move away into the bathroom, where a distinctive click was heard and he knew that he was alone. There was something that was distracting her. She would often have days where she would be quiet and distracted but there was always something to bring her back out of her shell. He was able to do that more times than he could count, and he hated not knowing what was causing her to feel that way. The sound of water could be heard, and he busied himself making the dough for the both of them.

It was a short while after that the bathroom door opened. Matt heard the splashes of water fall and land on the wooden floor from her damp hair. He turned towards her. Katharine made her way over to the couch where she sat down, her eyes avoiding Matt.

"I've made the dou-"

"-She's back."

Matt felt his heart drop at that moment, and he listened in to her heartbeat. He moved towards her, and sat on the opposite couch.

"You know what's weird?" Katharine asked, not waiting for him to answer. "There was always a part of me that wondered where she was, or what she was doing at that moment. Whether she was happy or not. Whether she was still here, or whether she had moved away. I wondered if she had died. I wondered if she remarried or had children, I wondered if she loved them more than she ever loved me. I wondered if I would recognise her if I saw her again. I wondered if she was going to be the one person whose face I forgot. I wanted to know everything about her, and then I never wanted to think about her ever again."

"That's natural," Matt said.

"Is it?" Katharine asked, tears forming in her eyes. "After everything that she did to me, I still care about her. I still care about her even though I have an ugly reminder of her on my face," she said, absentmindedly touching the scar on her cheek. "An ugly reminder of the abuse and torment she put me through. She hurt me instead of loving me. She hurt me instead of protecting me. And she thought that was okay. She did it over and over again, every single day. She never allowed the bruises to fade before she was hitting me again. Never once was there a sign of remorse on her face. Never once was there an apology. Never once was there a promise of it never happening again. There was nothing."

Matt's eyes filled with tears at that moment. He could hear the pain rattle against her chest like a hurricane wanting to come out, struggling in the confines of her chest.

"The only time I ever felt safe was with you," Katharine cried. "And you… you lost your dad. He was a wonderful man and he was taken from you. He should be here. He should be here by your side. He didn't deserve to die, and you didn't deserve to lose him. And my mom? The one who abused me is still living on this earth, still breathing the same air as me. I sometimes dream about him. I still hear his voice and I remember the jokes he would always tell us. He was good man, and he would be so proud of you."

"Yeah?" Matt whispered.

"Yeah," Katharine replied. "So proud. I'm proud of you."

Matt wiped the tears that found their way down his cheeks. "How do you know she's back?"

"Her husband was in my apartment last night," Katharine said.

"He was… here?" Matt asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"He was talking to me about her," Katharine began. "She remarried, and she has a daughter. She's nine. She abuses her, too."

"What did he want?" Matt asked.

"Help," Katharine replied. "He wants her to stop."

"Can't he stop her?"

"No," she replied. "He's tried everything. He offered me money to stop her."

"What?" Matt asked. "How much?"

"It doesn't matter, I turned it down," Katharine said. She stood up and moved towards her bedroom. She pulled the folder out of her bag and carried it over to where Matt was. She placed it in his hands so that he could feel the weight of it.

"All of that," she continued. "Is the amount of times she's been seen by social workers. They file a report on her and it disappears. She pays them to keep quiet. And now that she can afford to, thanks to her husband, she can do so. But mine, the case file for me all those years ago is something she's been trying to hide for years. Because I'm in the system, and I work for the system, and I'm over the age of eighteen, the case is there unless I tell them that I want it to be hidden. I'm not ashamed of what happened to me. I hate it, but I can't change the past. And neither can she."

"How does he want you to stop her?" Matt asked.

"He wants me to scare her enough that it makes her stop," Katharine replied. "But he told me that if I do scare her, and she continues then I have the right to…"

"Kill her." It wasn't a question but a statement. When someone is desperate enough, anything is possible.

"I know she won't change," Katharine said. "If she hadn't changed since me, then she'll always be like it."

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" Matt asked. "You've made your mind up."

Katharine remained quiet for a moment. There was a young girl to think about. She pictured herself as that small child, and she remembered she had prayed for her mom to stop or for someone to stop her mom from hurting her again. Her prayers were left unanswered.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm just going to scare her a little," Katharine said.

"And what if she recognises you? Have you thought about that?" Matt asked.

"She won't," Katharine said. "She has a photograph of me of when I was young. The same age her daughter is now. She won't know who I am."

"I don't like this," Matt said, honestly.

"You don't have to like it," Katharine said, adamantly. "If it means that that little girl can live without the fear of her mother hurting her again, then it's the least I can do."

"I'll help you," Matt said. "I don't want you to do this alone."

Katharine smiled, and moved towards him. She dropped down in front of him, and held both of his hands in her own. She kissed his palms slowly. "You don't have to help me," she whispered, to which he shook his head.

"Let's not think about it anymore, okay?" Matt said, allowing his hand to move to her face where he grazed his thumb over the permanent reminder of the past, one of which she allowed him to touch. It didn't make him love her any less. She was ashamed of it, but he never understood why. "I don't know about you but I'm ready for pizza."

"Me too," Katharine smiled, allowing Matt to feel it.

They both stood and made their way towards the kitchen. Katharine moved towards the fridge, inspecting the clean counters. "I'm quite surprised to see no mess!"

As Katharine turned around, she quickly closed her eyes and mouth as Matt threw flour at her. She heard Matt chuckling and she opened her eyes to look at him.

He shrugged his shoulders and smirked. "Oops."

* * *

 _Author's Note: Happy New Year! Have a wonderful day, and I hope 2016 is amazing for you all! Hope you enjoy this little update! Let me know what you think of the chapter, I love reading your reviews!_


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